Steering Clear of Union Organizing Efforts

We have yet to meet an employer that preferred to see its employees join a labor union. However, many employers do not know the signs of union activity or the rules around what to do should such activity be detected. The National Labor Relations Board has significantly changed union election rules to disfavor employers, and being prepared for prompt, effective communications with employees about why they do not need a union has never been more important. Further, the penalties for actions or statements that violate labor laws have never been more punitive.

Beyond organizing into unions, employees have rights to engage together in certain kinds of activity for their mutual benefit without being disciplined in response. Many managers and supervisors are surprised to learn how much coordinated complaining and information-sharing the law allows employees to do on matters related to their terms and conditions of employment. Inadvertently violating these employee rights can lead to investigations from the National Labor Relations Board. Union organizing activity is often not far behind. Our training program focuses on avoiding these unintentional missteps, recognizing when there is a risk of union interest among employees, responding to those risks within the law, and keeping the support of employees when a labor union seeks to undermine it.